The daily fight against hunger in Central Floridians is in no small part made possible because of women on a mission.
Showing up and rolling up their sleeves to volunteer, addressing the dietary needs of neighbors facing hunger AND chronic illness, or planning the organization’s signature fundraising events are women committed to combatting food insecurity.
This National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida recognizes and celebrates some of the women making history in the fight against hunger.
Andrea has a Heart for Helping Others
Second Harvest’s award-winning signature fundraising event is made possible by volunteer committee members like Andrea.
Since its inception four years ago, Andrea has worked to make Ultimate Garden Party a unique, fun and impactful event.
But Andrea’s history with the food bank goes back about 17 years. She started volunteering at her workplace, organized food drives, and signed up with coworkers to be part of the Taste! Central Florida planning committee.
“I was hooked,” Andrea said. “Helping raise money to feed millions of people made me feel amazing. I love the food bank and everything it stands for, so I do whatever I can.”
Andrea’s mission to fight hunger is a personal one. Her husband grew up in Orlando in a household of 12 that struggled to make ends meet, and his family depended on the food bank for their next meal.
“He remembers his sister coming home with food from the food bank,” Andrea said. “He had to drop out of high school to help his family but was able to go back, get his diploma, and continue on to be a UCF grad. He is the hardest-working man I know.”
Andrea also grew up with a role model for helping others, she said.
“My mom was a Broward County teacher for 31 years working with the juvenile justice system and alternative educational programs,” she said. “She taught regular curriculum and basic life skills that they may not have received. She had a heart for economically disadvantaged kids and truly made a difference in many of her students’ lives, as well as mine.”
Andrea said it is important to understand the facts about food insecurity when getting involved in the fight against hunger.
One in eight people in Central Florida faces hunger, including one in six children. This inspires Andrea to volunteer and donate funds to the food bank.
“If you cannot financially help, please volunteer your time,” she said. “Let’s fight hunger with action. It’s a true blessing to make a difference for those in need.”
Alice is On a Mission to Do More
The gratitude of neighbors inspired Alice to fight hunger and feed hope as a Second Harvest volunteer.
The church she attends is a feeding partner of the food bank, and Alice interacted with those facing hunger at food distributions.
“It made me want to do it more,” she said. “This is one small thing to me, but it is a big thing for those facing hunger and in need.”
She is her workplace’s community service director and organizes a group of volunteers to fill a shift at Second Harvest’s main warehouse every third Friday of the month. The group sorts dry goods, repacks food boxes, sorts meat donations, or whatever else is needed when they arrive.
“Fighting hunger is important to me because I always think you never know when you would be the person on the receiving side instead of the giving,” Alice said. “Today or tomorrow, the only thing that is constant is change. I may be helping others now, but I don’t know when/if it will be my turn to receive help. The more we support, the less people go hungry.”
Alice inherited her heart for giving and helping others from her mother.
“She always helped others, even if it was her last,” she said. “I grew up with her cooking food and serving people in the neighborhood with whatever she’d cooked. She would say, ‘You never know when it will be you’.”
She added that you may not be able to solve everything, but you can do something.
“You may not be able to feed a hundred people, but you can feed one,” Alice said. “No one should go hungry, especially children. Pay it forward. If someone has helped you, help someone.”
Fighting Hunger has been Patti’s Lifelong Mission
Patti began her mission to fight hunger when she was in elementary school.
She worked with a group of students collecting food to help neighbors in her hometown of Joliet, Illinois.
“Even as a young person, I felt the need to help those who were struggling and who had not received the blessings that I had growing up,” said Patti, Second Harvest’s Director of Agency Relations. “Because family meals were such a constant in my life growing up, the thought that some people did not have enough to eat was hard for me to imagine.”
She went on to fight hunger at her church, where she organized a food pantry and helped families receive the food they needed.
She took on the mission professionally in 2016 when she joined Second Harvest supporting its network of feeding partners. Patti describes her role as an advocate, cheerleader and mentor, leading a team of “hunger heroes” who support more than 600 feeding partners across the food bank’s seven-county service area.
“It’s the absolute best job ever and has brought so much joy to my life,” Patti said. “My first mission moment was the first week at Second Harvest when I visited a mobile (food distribution) and noticed a small boy crying while holding a box of cereal and a gallon of milk. I asked him if he was okay, and he smiled through his tears and said, ‘I am just so excited that my sister and I can have milk with our cereal this week.’ I got in my car, cried the whole way back to the food bank and decided that this was where I was meant to be!”
Patti’s inspiration to give back to her community and lead with her heart came from a Girl Scout named Elaine who hired her for a previous position with the organization.
“Elaine taught me to tackle each situation with grace and patience and most importantly, without judgement,” Patti said. “She taught me how to navigate situations where you never let others see you sweat. The tools she gave me helped me in many situations to remain calm and to never give up.”
Patti said fighting hunger is so important to her because food insecurity can affect anyone.
“I feel that food should be a basic human right and it is unbelievable that some people cannot count on where their next meal is coming from,” she said. “So many people find themselves in this situation even though they have done nothing to cause it. Food can bring clarity and hope to a situation and help people think about their next move to improve their life.”
Patti encourages all women from all walks of life to look for opportunities to walk alongside other women in their communities to show support and compassion for others.
“Helping in the hunger fight is not hard, and there are many ways you can use your individual talents and strengths to bring hope to another,” she said. “Even the smallest gesture will warm your heart because what seems to be a little thing, can be a huge thing to someone else. If you sprinkle the community with love and acceptance, you will wash away a lot of the pain that people have to experience in their lives.”
